Larranaga hopes one-on-one talk with Scott will spur Miami's defense

Coach sees junior guard as defensive leader

CORAL GABLES — Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga, who's been stressing the need for better defense, met individually with guard Durand Scott last Thursday about being a leader on that end of the floor.

Scott says Larranaga told him that before he took the job he had heard about the junior having the potential to be a great defensive player, one of the best in the ACC.

"He said I haven't been doing what he thought I would be capable of doing, that maybe I've been doing in the past, but I haven't been doing it now and he needs to see that," Scott said.

"He was basically delivering a message to me to step it up on the defensive end. I took it personal. I want to go out there and be able to lock up anybody in front of me from here on out."

Scott, who had a team-high 43 steals last season, had just five through 10 games this season.

Miami, which played at Charlotte on Thursday night, went into last Saturday's game against Florida Atlantic giving up 42.8 percent shooting (186th nationally out of 338 teams) and 65.6 points per game (152nd).

FAU shot 45.1 percent (51.7 from 3-point range) in UM's 93-90 double overtime win, but Larranaga afterward credited the Owls' shooting. UM had allowed 74.8 points per game the previous four games combined, leading to Larranaga's one-on-one with Scott, which Larranaga said he hoped would get the team going as a whole.

"What we see is there are times when our defense is very solid and guys are guarding their men pretty well and helping each other pretty well," he said. "But a lot of defense is persistence and you've got to sustain not only your effort but your focus on what you're trying to accomplish."